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Monday, 13 December 2010

Gisela took eleven of us for a very nice walk through the countryside of Huldenberg and Loonbeek

At the beginning we followed a stream called "de Ijse" (origin of the town names Overijse and Neerijse) along a little wood

then we crossed the main road and climbed a hill where we had an open view onto the valley. Later, we crossed fields on frozen muddy roads. Some puddles were still icy. It was the first really long walk for our 2 new members, Susan and Idit, but they seemed to enjoy it and are determined to renew the experience next year.

And as usual, we were really happy to arrive at the Taverne Rochus and to sit comfortably in a cosy atmosphere drinking tea and eating their lovely pancakes, wafles and warm apple pie with ice cream. Thank you Gisela.

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

This walk was cancelled because of icy cold and slippery roads. Paulette, however, had pangs of conscience since the cancellation was issued on the morning of the walk, so she walked from her house close by the meeting point to ensure that no-one would stand and wait in the cold.

Surprise, surprise, there were two walkers waiting for the group and raring to go!! So a shortish walk seemed in order, although the conditions were far from optimal.

Idit, a new member, turned up along with Isobel. We were happy to get some bracing air.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

32 ladies met at the Auberge de la Roseraie today to participate in our traditionalChristmas lunch. Although we had to cancel the walk due to the risky weather conditions, we all enjoyed each other’s company sitting in lovely, warm surroundings and appreciating the restaurant’s delicious food. We had the choice between two fantastic menus which were both refined and beautifully presented: the first one was marinated salmon in soya and coriander, followed by a supreme of guinea fowl accompanied by morel cream and finally a chocolate sweet as a dessert; the second one was young boar terrine followed by sea bass filet in a saffron emulsion with scampis and scallops, with an apple tart as a dessert. Paulette made a speech to thank all the walkers for their participation in this year’s walks and to recap all the great walks we did this year. Later on, Deborah, on behalf of the group, thanked Sheila and Paulette for their leadership this year and offered them a very nice painting of Columbines, chosen by Martha, plus two special cards, one designed by the very talented Joan and another one with a beautiful photo of a range of trees under the setting sun, as well as their favourite chocolates and cream to protect their hands against the winter’s attack. They were both most appreciative of the gifts.Everyone agreed that the venue was terrific and that we should reiterate the experience again next year.

How nice to be back again in this charming restaurant with so many walking friends. I’m glad we all could reach the Auberge today in spite of the weather conditions. This will be our first white Christmas lunch of the last 4 years.

Here are a few numbers for you to digest. They are quite impressive:

So far this year we’ve had 92 walks.

Some walks are more popular than others but Tervueren and Jesus Eik are the two places we go to most often.

This year we said bye bye to 2 stalwarts of our group, Sandy and Jennifer. We certainly miss them. But it was so nice to see some of our former walkers coming back to visit us: Marilyn, Christa W., Marie-Jo, Alison, Sarah, Sybil…

This year we had the celebration of Sandy’s departure at my home, the visit to the Zwin, thank you Veronique, the picnic and the couple’s walk in the Fagnes, thank you Sheila and Keith. I was going through the photographs of this year and noticed there were very nice shots of the bluebell walk, the azaleas walk in the chateau de la Hulpe, the strawberry walk, the pink cherry trees in Neerijse plus nice photos of our group standing or walking but also lovely shots of horses and foals in Alsemberg, sheep with 4 horns in Overijse and a squirrel in Zoetewater but the most unusual photograph was certainly Margaret’s photograph of a terrifying black devil’s coach-horse beetle which was acting like a scorpion in the Chateau de la Hulpe! Thanks to all the photographers.

There are a lot of ladies who deserve thanks today. First of all Anne B, who maintains the master list of the walking group and takes care of the blog when I’m not available. Joan, and Anne, have stepped up several times this year, for example, to lead additional walks during the summer and throughout the whole year during periods of illness. Thanks also to those who volunteered to lead walks: Bonnie, Charlotte, Deborah, Dolphine, Ghislaine, Gisela, Ingeborg and Sherry, Isobel, Jane Gill, Janet, Janette, Joyce and Pernette, Lydia and Lori, Margaret, Margosha, Martha, Sue Irving, Sue Roberts, Veronique and Yuko. I hope I didn’t forget anybody. It is so nice to see so many ladies playing an active part in the group.

Thanks also to those who opened their home and welcomed us graciously with coffee, tea and cakes this year. Having 20 pairs of muddy boots trampling through your living room is not everybody’s cup of tea…So I think it is worthwhile saluting the courage of Christa, Deborah, Ingeborg, Jane Gill, Penny, Veronique and Yuko.

Last but not least, a big thank you once again to Sheila for leading the easy walks all year long .

Thinking about Sandy …and Jennifer who are following our adventures on the blog and who we are in contact with from time to time, would you mind signing these cards for them?

Finally, there are still a few walks in December including a Christmas hat walk in town and a Christmas Pancake Lunch. So enjoy your walks for the rest of the year. Thank you all for supporting the Walking Group. Enjoy your meal and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year